The First Zoo Visit

Wow, I really am the work at home dad. Yesterday I took Sammy to the zoo in Atascadero to meet Annieâ??s sister-in-law and her two daughters so they could spend some time together. I rolled up in the Rav 4 sport utility vehicle and a diaper bagâ?¦pimpinâ?? ainâ??t easy yâ??all.

So, for those of you unfamiliar with the zoo in Atascadero, itâ??s called the Charles Paddock Zoo and it may well be the smallest zoo on the planet. I definitely give them credit for having something like that here in this area but itâ??s small for sure. I may be spoiled though having grown up in southern California where there were museums, big zoos, and large amusement parks.

Enough about me. Sammy walked all around and followed his cousins from one exhibit to the next. It seemed he had just as much fun picking flowers as he did looking at animals. I think heâ??s still a bit too young to really be into it but it was definitely worth going. It was fun showing him some animals in real life that he had only seen in books up to this point.

He got to see a tiger, some monkeys, and a big turtle (tortoise?). Itâ??s even funnier when he does the noises of some of the animalsâ?¦the kidâ??s got talent. If I do say so myself. A turkey (yes, they had a turkey in the zoo) nibbled his hand when he put it on the fencing so that was exciting too Buy Ativan. No crying though. He seemed to dig the flamingos too.

The gift shop was a hit too. Sammy went through there and proceeded to lay everything gently on the ground and we followed behind picking everything back up. Youâ??ll see an example of this in a photo below where he put all the sippy cups on the ground. He also got to wear a tiara of some sort for a bit. Not sure why a zoo has a tiara but who am I to judge.

Since the zoo is pretty small itâ??s cool that right outside thereâ??s a huge park with play equipment and a lakeâ?¦well, itâ??s not much of a lake currently due to the drought I guess. We hung out at the park and the three kids ran around doing what kids do. It was time to leave when the kids that were dropped off by the school bus left the zoo and came barreling down on us at the park.

All in all, a good day. Itâ??s nice to get Sammy, and myself, out of the house for a few hours every day. Itâ??s a nice break from work even though I am a self-professed workaholic. Iâ??ve done the beach thing with him (which is probably my favorite outing), the downtown Paso Robles Park, Barney Schwartz Park, and now the zoo. Some of our next adventures will be the Paso Robles Childrenâ??s Museum, the SLO Childrenâ??s Museum, and the Avila Barn.

A day in my life.